Neuroscientist made distinguished alumnus

Neuroscientist, medical doctor and Paralympic
wheelchair athlete, Dr William Tan, has been made a
Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Auckland.

He is
one of six University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni to
receive the award at a gala dinner in Auckland next
week.

The 56 year old from Singapore gained an MPhil
(Medical Science), Master of Health Science, and PhD in
Paediatrics from the University of Auckland between 1989 and
1995.

Dr Tan contracted polio at two years old, resulting
in paralysis from the waist down. He has since shown amazing
strength in overcoming adversities.

As a young man, he
pursued his dream to become a scientist and medical doctor.
After gaining a First Class Honours in Physiology, Dr Tan
won a Singapore scholarship to pursue his PhD in Paediatrics
at the University of Auckland working under the guidance of
Professor Sir Peter Gluckman and Christopher
Williams.

“I was looking at the process of brain injury
from oxygen deprivation during childbirth and how
interventions using drugs can be carried out to salvage the
brain cells after the injury,” he says.

After his PhD,
he continued the same field of neuroscience research at the
University of Auckland’s Research Centre for Developmental
Medicine and Biology for two years. He left Auckland in 1995
to become a research fellow in Neurosurgery at the Mayo
Clinic where he translated his skills and experience to the
adult setting - looking at the process of brain injury from
oxygen deprivation during neurosurgery and during
stroke.

“My work as a neuroscientist takes a very
different form now,” he says. “I am using my knowledge
of neuroscience to help individuals, leaders and
organisations peak perform, (as the chief peak performance
strategist at Singapore’s Peak Performance
Institute).

He is also a resident physician at the
National Cancer Centre in Singapore looking after cancer
patients undergoing chemotherapy (with 100 patients to look
after a day on average). He also travels extensively to
speak in various countries as an international inspirational
speaker and neuroscientist.

Dr Tan’s record as a
talented sportsman is also impressive. A triple gold
medallist at the Asia-Pacific Games in 1986, he has competed
in many international Games including the 1988 Seoul
Paralympics and the 1990 Commonwealth Games in
Auckland.

He has also used his athletic abilities to help
fundraising for needy causes around the world. These have
included skydiving, water-skiing, sailing and climbing
buildings. Over the last 20 years he has raised more than
$18 million for charities both locally and
internationally.

Dr Tan became a wheelchair marathon
champion in Singapore, and while living in Auckland he
“blossomed as a wheelchair athlete marathon racer”,
competing in regional games, nationals and
marathons.

“The highlight of which was I broke five New
Zealand national wheelchair track records in one day,” he
says.

One of his ultra-marathon endeavours included a
wheelchair push the length of New Zealand.

He has competed
in many marathons including the London and Boston Marathons.
In 2007, Dr Tan became the first person in the world to
complete a marathon in the North Pole. In the same year, he
broke the world record for completing 7 marathons across 7
continents in 26 days, 17 hours, 43 minutes and 52 seconds-
an amazing achievement.

Dr Tan also received widespread
international recognition including the Outstanding Young
Persons of the World Award (Humanitarian/ Voluntary
Leadership) given by the Junior Chamber International, USA
in 1997; the Commonwealth Youth Award for Excellence in
Youth Work in 1998 and the ASEAN Youth Award in 2000. In
2003, he was honoured with the Reader's Digest Inspiring
Asian Award which 'recognized deserving individuals who must
be able to demonstrate that they have made a difference or
are making a difference and are encouraging others to do
so'.

In early 2008, Dr William Tan was recognised at the
Annual Sports Superstar Awards, held by the Singapore
Disability Sports Council, winning the Sportsman of the Year
Award for 2007.

In April 2009, Dr Tan was diagnosed with
cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant
for stage four leukemia. Successfully battling the disease
in its end stages, he was advised against racing by his
oncologist, deciding instead to reinvent himself and take up
the sport of para-table tennis in 2011, where he climbed the
standings from 123rd in the world at the beginning of the
year to 48th just six months
later.

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